in fact, even when president obama and house speaker john boehner were in the same room together like they were last night at the white house holiday reception for congress members, they didn't even speak. the president was asked about that today. >> speaker boehner was here at the white house last night for a christmas party. the two of you didn't even speak. what's it going to take to get the two of you in a room to hash this out? >> well, speaker boehner and i speak frequently, and i think the issue right now -- >> when? when will the two of you sit down in a room? >> you know, i don't think that the issue right now has to do with sitting in a room. >> as i mentioned, the american people want the people they elected to sit down together, work it out. a new gallup poll shows 62% want government leaders to compromise on the fiscal cliff. just 25% said they should stick to their principles. so why is it that this congress and this white house can't seem to get together and compromise on a deal? it certainly isn't the first time republicans and democrats haven't seen eye-to-eye on an i